Electric Dreams
by Kay Willow
Summary: As an information broker, there isn't much that Lelouch isn't used to knowing at a brush of his fingertips. But this time, when it MATTERS, he needs to find outside help. //VERY AU. Eventual Suzaku/Lelouch. Ensemble cast.//
1. Chapter 1

**.electric dreams, I.**

The viewscreen on the communicator was small but clear, transmitting a miniature version of Rolo's displeased frown across the city with perfect clarity. "I don't approve," he said stubbornly.

Lelouch crossed his legs and leaned back, the very picture of amused composure. "I know you don't. But I don't need, nor am I interested in, your approval."

The rebuke seemed to hit its mark, and some of Rolo's indignance faded. He sounded almost sullen when he spoke again, a muted, "If you need a specialized machine, then use me. I don't mind if you have to build a new system. But to contract with some stranger... to trust him with your secrets..."

"Rolo." He conjured up a small smile for the younger man, reassuring him. "This job is bigger than just one machine. Don't worry. I'm not replacing you. But our relationship is very well-known; even if I built the system I need, my family would know who and what you are."

Addressing the deeper concern worked, as it usually did. Rolo nodded, the remainder of his attitude melting away. "Is that why you're going to this..." He frowned again. "...unknown? Because you need someone they won't associate with you?"

Unknown to most, but not to others, and information was Lelouch's trade. He was about to answer when the monitor across from him flickered to life, responding to the alarm he'd set. Lelouch straightened, saying instead, "Finally. I'll contact you when I need you, Rolo."

"Wait! Zero--"

He shut the communicator and tucked it back into the folds of his coat, then reached out to press his hand to the wall. Immediately the machinery inside responded to him, rushing to his touch; he could hear them whisper, _A broker? One like us. Talking to us!_

_Shh,_ he urged, his will passing through the electric current the same way his voice carried through the air. _I need the surveillance turned back on._

He withdrew his hand before the network could throng back to him eagerly, and tugged his glove on. In all honesty Lelouch would rather talk to the electronics than the man who owned them: unless another information broker was at work, electronics were almost always respectful, happy to see him, and earnestly obedient. People were much more unpredictable, could be deceptive and cruel, and they had their own interests that they would always put first.

Inconvenient, especially when Lelouch needed them to put his interests first.

The nearly-invisible camera in the corner was active again, recording audio as well as visual, and Lelouch stood graciously to meet his new associate.

Suzaku Kururugi was eating a cracker, and he did not look up from the papers in his hand when he entered the room. He crossed around the room as if unaware of Lelouch's presence in it, circling around the desk and seating himself at his chair without so much as a cursory acknowledgment.

_No wonder he's an unknown._ A client without Lelouch's self-assurance -- and need for this one, particular freelancer -- would have walked straight out.

Lelouch smiled smoothly and made an innocuous comment to remind him of his manners. "I'm pleased that you could join me. I hope I haven't proposed a meeting while you were supposed to be sitting down at a meal..."

The brunet paused and then glanced at the cracker in his hand. He finished it in two quick bites, chewed, and licked his fingertips, to Lelouch's amusement and borderline disgust. "Ah, no. I just expend a lot of energy. Crackers and chips help."

It would probably help him more if he didn't eat them while trying to negotiate with potential clients, but Lelouch settled gracefully back into his seat and waited for him. When his fingers were clean, the man straightened the pages in front of him and noticed, "You should be aware that this amount is a lot more than my usual retainer, Mr..."

The precise moment that Kururugi found his name on the contract was easy to recognize; he made a startled double-take, and suddenly found it in him to sit straighter and self-consciously hide his damp fingers. Lelouch smiled for the wide green eyes that darted up to take him in, and at last seemed to notice his fine attire and elegant features.

"Well, it's a very unusual commission," Lelouch said, mildly. "You may call me Zero, of course." It was typical for information brokers to go by an alias, but his father was the most powerful of the city's feuding barons, and 'Zero's' true identity was well-known. "Do you usually go by Suzaku?"

"That's my name -- I mean. Yes."

Kururugi was very discreetly attempting to tidy up his desk. Lelouch ignored him, saying instead, "Then, Suzaku, you are aware that I have offered you a rather large retainer in exchange for this meeting, regardless of whether or not you accept the terms of the contract. But I think you'll find the salary for the commission to be quite generous as well."

Since the contract obviously had received only the most cursory of attention, he slid to the edge of his chair and ran a gloved finger down the page to point at the clause in question. _Remember how much money I'm offering you?_ His eyes lidded, he watched Kururugi read and then swallow deliberately. They could talk about the job after they'd established how much was on the line.

"I see," was all he said, calmly.

Lelouch leaned back again, smiling. "I'm willing to make compromises because, as I mentioned, it's an unusual request -- probably completely unique -- and it requires an unusual, perhaps unique, machine." He gestured at Kururugi; that would be you.

Kururugi met his gaze for the first time, wary. "You need my neural net."

Suzaku Kururugi was a relative unknown, but the information that was available was fairly consistent. An orphan, never adopted; did non-profit work for a while after he got tired of living in the system; finished serving an imaginary debt to society and began working as a freelancer only earlier this year -- small, petty jobs, bodyguard and escort work mostly. He was a hyper, capable of superhuman feats without any nanomachine enhancements. But there was one record indicating that in spite of that, he was in fact a machine: a government record, inaccessible to anyone who didn't work for the city's legislative body -- and didn't know how to ask a computer nicely.

Usually people became machines for one of two reasons: to enhance their physical abilities, which Kururugi didn't need, or to make up for physical defects, which Kururugi had never suffered from.

(Lelouch felt a quick pang and suppressed it immediately. Soon.)

Suzaku Kururugi had a neural net: not a physical enhancement, but a mental one. Even an expert information broker could destroy a man's life irreparably by messing around inside the delicate brain, and so the procedure was very, very uncommon.

And it was precisely what Lelouch needed. "You'll see from the privacy clause that this commission involves very sensitive information, and I cannot divulge it until you have entered into the contract." He gestured idly with one gloved hand. "But the _unusual_ part of the request involves the machine-brain interaction of your system. For this job, I need you to play a specific role -- and to _believe_ that role." He smiled, cool. "So I will use your neural net to create new memories for you."

Kururugi sat very stiff, his expression unreadable. "Memories?"

"I assure you, I've done it before," Lelouch said, folding his hands comfortably. _Once -- by accident._ "What I will do is install nanomachines with a programmed lifespan of ninety days, and then I will overlay them on your neural net. Your body accesses the neural net before the brain itself, so when you attempt to read your memories, you will be 'redirected' to the false memories.

"Your true memories will be untouched, only temporarily suppressed, and if all else fails, in ninety days the nanomachines will disintegrate." Lelouch paused a moment, studying him thoughtfully. What else would reassure a human in this situation? "There's no risk whatsoever, but I'm sorry to say that it _is_ a somewhat invasive procedure."

There was a moment of silence. Kururugi leaned back in his chair, thumb and forefinger rubbing together, and then his gaze slid slowly down to the contract again. To the amount he would be compensated for his sacrifice. "Just three months?" he said, confirming.

"Three months at the absolute maximum. I can suppress the nanomachines anytime it's necessary, and if the objective is achieved early, I can destroy them." Lelouch smiled, lazy. "Either way, you walk away completely intact, and significantly wealthier."

Another lingering look at the contract.

It was a very generous sum.

Finally, Kururugi said, "I have questions, and I don't completely understand why this is necessary -- but that's what you want, right? I won't get to know until I accept, and you'll take away the details after you install the new memories anyway."

"Of course."

Kururugi was still hesitating, turning it over almost visibly. Lelouch stayed politely quiet, letting him mull it over. He had no idea what Kururugi usually used his neural net for -- likely simple tasks, like recording the events around him, or uploading data for his missions -- but it was definitely nothing like this. Probably no broker had ever even directly tinkered with that complex system inside his head, other than whatever genius had built it in the first place.

"There's no way you can insure me," Kururugi said, more of a statement than a question. "If anything goes wrong, there's no safety for me."

"I can insure you as to my good intentions," Lelouch returned, "but as I said before, there's no risks. I'm not working directly with your brain, only with your existing system. The adjustments I make will be gone in ninety days even in the worst case scenario."

It looked like Kururugi was still skeptical about that, which was somewhat annoying -- his skill and intelligence both being called into question -- but Lelouch reminded himself that the man was only human and entitled to be wary of someone who wanted to reprogram him. "What insurance?" he only asked.

Lelouch reached into his coat and pulled out a slim minidisc in a glossy case, holding it up between two fingers for Suzaku to see. "If you agree to the terms of the contract, you take this. You can confirm the contents with any broker. You upload this program with a password of your own choosing. If you _don't_ deactivate it with that password in ninety-seven days, the explicit terms of our contract will be projected to every wired monitor in the city. By the nature of the memory overlay, while under its effects, you will be unable to remember the password -- meaning that the only way to prevent our very sensitive contract from becoming public knowledge is if I hold true to my word."

The brunet paused a moment longer, and said, just, "That's certainly an incentive for you to make sure I come out of this intact. I suppose knowing your reputation will be ruined is some comfort if you damage my brain." Lelouch narrowed his eyes, ability slighted again, but Kururugi was already straightening. "Do I just sign?"

So despite his doubts, the lure of the money was too great. Lelouch smiled a little, lopsided and cynical. "If you're certain you want to do this, then yes. You're entitled to ask more questions--"

But he let his voice trail off. Kururugi was already uncapping a pen, and he signed the contract without another word. He slid it back over the table for Lelouch to inspect. "Do I start now?" he asked, expressionless.

He hadn't been aware of any tension, but Lelouch found himself relaxing finally when the contract was signed. It was a huge relief not to have to worry about the fact that his plans hinged on some stranger granting him permission to strip him of his memories and give him new ones at his discretion. "You start now," he agreed.

"Then what am I doing?"

There was a beat of silence -- only a beat, so Kururugi wouldn't have to know how much pained him to say it.

"Overtly, you're my childhood best friend, recently reunited with me and come for a visit." Lelouch signed the contract as well, his signature a flourish.

"Covertly, you're helping me rescue my sister." When Lelouch met his gaze, his own violet eyes were as calm and composed as the rest of him. "My family has abducted her."

.

_C.C. had said the same thing as Rolo, when he told her about his plans. "You? Trusting a stranger with your secrets?"_

There had been no doubt or skepticism in her elegant features, but she had always been less transparent than Rolo, conveyed over his monitor hazily, somehow. But this was as he'd ever seen her: she in her dark room, and he in his. Still, he could make out her mocking, and it made him bristle defensively.

"As if I need to worry about a machine," he'd scoffed. One whim, one command, and that so-vital neural net could shatter into a billion drifting nanomachines, which could reform into an icepick and pierce his brain or create another, much more permanent memory overlay with equal ease. The machine might defy him, but the nanomachines in his blood would always obey.

"You're very protective of your secrets," C.C. had said, her golden eyes sinking half-lidded. "Almost as protective as you are of your sister."

"Almost."

"But I wonder if she still cherishes that the way she did when she was a little girl..."

And then Lelouch remembered a silence, struggling against a million things, the way he often did in these discussions with C.C. -- he didn't know why he continued to talk to her, except for momentum, except that he always had, and she had never betrayed his confidences. It was madness to talk to another broker so honestly, but maybe he had become a little addicted to thinking out loud at someone.

He had told her, "She doesn't get to brush me off when she's just been kidnapped," and cut the channel.


	2. Chapter 2

**.electric dreams, ii.**

For a machine, Kururugi -- no, Suzaku, start thinking of him as Suzaku -- got very uneasy at the sight of the syringe in Lelouch's hand. It was hard not to roll his eyes. It wasn't a very impressive needle, small and filled with the silver plasma containing the nanomachines Lelouch had readied for this procedure. But Suzaku walked slowly to the chair next to Lelouch and dropped down into it, rolling up a sleeve.

"Do you have any questions?" Lelouch prompted when the man didn't say anything.

Suzaku shrugged. "Curiosity sounds dangerous for a job like this, doesn't it?"

It was certainly very smart not to ask too many questions when Lelouch was accusing someone of kidnapping a baron's daughter, but he couldn't help a tiny flicker of amusement. "You won't remember what I tell you once I give you the memory overlay, and when I suppress your nanomachines -- there probably won't be time for explanations."

Another shrug, looking straight ahead calmly. "Whatever you think I need to know. But I won't hesitate when it comes down to it. I'll do whatever you tell me."

Lelouch smiled faintly. The machine like an extension of the nanomachine, instantly obedient to his command -- it was ideal. Rather like what he had with Rolo, without the sense of possessiveness that sometimes made Rolo act independently. Suzaku was older but less experienced than Rolo; Lelouch rather hoped that Rolo would grow into that confidence with a little grooming.

"For this deception, you'll be playing the role of a childhood friend of mine," Lelouch informed him anyway, piercing the skin of his arm with the needle and quickly injecting the nanomachines. Suzaku shivered a little in response. "We've been apart for a few years, and I've invited you to stay with my family. They won't recognize that you're a machine on a standard scan, so no one will question your belief."

"A friend," Suzaku echoed, and his lips turned up, the faintest of smiles. "You'll have a lot of work to do."

Lelouch matched it with one of his own. "I enjoy a challenge."

The truth was that it would be one. He had never had a friend before, and the memories he was planning to give Suzaku were far more intimate than the real memories he had with the people who had been like friends to him. He had grown up with Milly and Shirley and Rivalz in seclusion out away from the cities, but they had always been at arm's length, never quite allowed to know his real thoughts, and occasionally told outright lies.

Another beat passed, and Lelouch asked casually, "How long does it usually take you to get maintenance done on your system?"

"Mmm, I don't know. I'm pretty low maintenance, I think."

Lelouch grimaced slightly. So much for satisfying his own curiosity about Suzaku's unusual system; machines were so insensitive about the important things. "Well, this won't take long," he told him. "You have nothing to worry about -- I'll take good care of you."

He met Suzaku's skeptical glance with a smile. It was important to interact well with the vessel if you wanted to make the best use of the nanomachines inside it. But the eye contact was what was really important; Lelouch held his gaze and reached out to brush his bare fingers against Suzaku's arm.

And he was inside: the world fading to black, the only thing in his awareness the silvery shimmer of the new nanomachines glittering from where they had spread throughout Suzaku's body, and the powerful redblue network lighting up his mind. With a soft urge, he swept the new nanomachines up to the brain, weaving them together into a delicate cobweb and settling them into place over the neural net. Sleep, he urged it, and felt it send out electrical impulses to withdraw the vessel's consciousness.

Then he began whispering.

_we grew up together, remember, you and i  
we were living outside the city while i was in seclusion as a child  
and when i explained to you that the seclusion was to protect me, you swore that you would never let anyone hurt me..._

_remember how we shared everything together?  
a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand little moments of closeness over years  
and when we were teenagers, and it was finally time for me to go back to the city as an adult, remember how sad you were..._

_and we met again just a few days ago, running into one another on the street  
i invited you to visit my family's estate, so that i can be the host this time, so that we can bond again  
you've been excited, hardly believing that the day has finally come, so that we can go back to the way we were before..._

And with each whisper he placed a dense layer of memories, a cluster of discoveries and wonders and emotions: fascinated by anthills and varyingly-successful attempts to play sports, confrontational first meetings and despairing goodbyes, hopeful thoughts -- and Nunnally, a ghost only just briefly touching Suzaku's life, just for a few months, but significant somehow.

Then Lelouch began to draw back, and spared a moment to marvel at the neural net itself. It was a very tight, almost flawless piece of work, one that he would nearly have to hammer at to create a weakness to exploit. The digital signature was perfectly even, but matched no broker that he had ever known.

So much for satisfying his curiosity.

Done, and a quick glance at the desk clock confirmed that it had been no more than ten minutes. Lelouch lowered his gaze again to Suzaku's sleeping face, feeling very, very distant, for all that he had created this deception.

_My new... best friend,_ he thought.

After another moment Suzaku began to stir, a small frown taking his features, and then when he opened his eyes again and saw Lelouch hovering next to him -- he smiled, wide and earnest, making his features seem to brighten. "Sorry-- did I doze off? That's so rude."

It was like looking at a completely different person. Lelouch shook off his surprise and chuckled, managing a genial, "I don't mind. What I mind is mind having to sit around and wait while you get your things together."

Suzaku all but launched himself out of the chair. "I'll be _two_ minutes. Wait right here."

He stepped for the door, and then half-turned, took a step back, and reached out to put a hand on Lelouch's shoulder. It was hard not to draw away from the uninvited touch, and Lelouch felt his eyes widening in spite of his best efforts, but Suzaku wasn't looking at him, gaze lowered. "I wanted you to know that-- I'm really happy to have the chance to see you again, Lelouch. I've... missed you."

The brunet lifted a hand to rub nonchalantly at his face; was he -- crying? Lelouch could only stare at him for a beat, stunned, before he ducked his head, hiding a small smile that he forced onto his slack features. "You're... an idiot, Suzaku."

"Hey, be nice to me," Suzaku said, fond, and then he laughed quietly. "But... Maybe a little. I'll be right back."

It felt like he could breathe again, when Suzaku was gone. Lelouch fumbled uncomfortably, tugging his glove back on, tugging up his collar, debating putting up his _hood_. He hadn't been expecting physical contact. No one casually touched a broker, it just wasn't done. But he supposed, with all those happy, intimate memories running through his system, Suzaku thought of him as a beloved friend first, and as a broker -- a distant, distant afterthought.

This was going to be a long mission.

He flipped open his communicator quickly, trying to ground himself again. A message from Rolo, which he deleted promptly, and a message from Odysseus, which he skipped. A schedule request from Kallen, marked important; he would have to fit that into his plans for the week. It wouldn't do to stop working entirely for just a casual visit to his family's estate.

True to his word, Suzaku returned almost immediately, one bag -- not even a suitcase -- slung over his shoulders. Lelouch lifted his eyebrows, skeptical, and thought of his car waiting downstairs, and the four immense suitcases he'd brought, only one of which contained computer equipment.

"I made it clear this is a month-long vacation, not just a night, didn't I?" he asked, bemused.

Suzaku gave him a blank look, and then glanced at the bag. "This is all I have."

_The man lives like a monk,_ Lelouch realized. It made some sense, considering his background; an orphan, relatively new to profitable work, how could he have possessed an extensive wardrobe?

But that would never do. If nothing else, Lelouch's family would be horrified to see him wearing the same three outfits for months. Lelouch himself would be horrified. "Maybe we can go shopping tomorrow," he suggested, helpful. "You just had a big commission, right? What else are you going to spend it on?"

Suzaku rolled his shoulders and admitted, "I guess you're right. I've been hoping to get a bigger office, in a better area... but I can probably afford a few things. It _was_ a lot of money."

"And they'll expect it, in your new, better office," Lelouch said with a small smile, leading the way out of the room.

For a fleeting moment, it seemed cruel; using his new influence over Suzaku to make him spend his retainer on clothes for the mission. But it was a necessary expense if he was to appear even slightly natural in his environment. Anything less and he'd be sticking out like a sore thumb.

And some of that ridiculously large retainer _had_ been intended for his emergency use, anyway.

"Shopping with Lelouch..." Suzaku said, his tone almost fond. "You're going to tell me what to buy, aren't you."

Lelouch lifted his eyebrows and corrected, "I'm going to offer my _advice_."

The brunet grinned. "Uh-huh. I know what your advice is like."

He really did, which was strange. Lelouch gave him some of it anyway, recommending the Raile district for his new office: it was where his mother Marianne made her office, a classy, pleasant area, not upscale enough to be prohibitively expensive, but more impressive than this barely tenable part of town. It'd be useful information for when Suzaku was fully cognizant again, and capable of making his own decisions.

They came out onto the street where Lelouch's driver was waiting for him, the door opened dutifully. Lelouch secured his gloves and his coat again, then tugged up his hood. "We're going to be staying not at my place, not at a summer house, but at the _seat_ of the baron's power," he said, loftily. "I might be showing off for you a little, so appreciate that."

Suzaku chuckled again as he climbed into the car behind Lelouch. "You don't have to show off. I already know you're amazing."

He said it with a completely innocent smile, so even though Lelouch _agreed_ with him, he still found himself flushing. He wasn't used to people just earnestly believing that way. "...how can you just say something like that, completely unselfconscious..."

"It's just an observation! What's there to be self-conscious about?"

Suzaku was smiling still, so warmly, so affectionately. Like any moment he might burst with it. Lelouch had no idea what to do with this, had to wonder if somehow he'd done what he didn't think possible and succeeded in altering Suzaku's core personality somehow. A few memories of happy childhood together, and suddenly he became like this?

"You could have a little more pride," he griped anyway. "What's so amazing about being born to a baron and never beating you in a footrace?"

There, the smile softened slightly, less intense at the very least. "It's not about who your father is. You're intelligent, and resourceful. With only a few pieces, I think you could win just about any game."

_And I plan to._ With two knights, one hidden, a queen waiting in the wings, and himself, he planned to best the man who controlled this city with an iron fist: his father. Lelouch smiled slightly. "With your help?"

Suzaku brightened, as if the suggestion had made his day. "If you need help winning a footrace? Just name the time and place."

So convenient. So malleable. So real, when he smiled back in spite of himself; even though it was as fake as everything else in his life, except for Nunnally.

.

_The memories were very real, based off of encounters he'd had in his childhood; encounters he'd always wished that he'd had. Children always seemed slow to pick up on the obvious, so it wasn't until they'd been friends for some time that Suzaku remembered asking, Why do you always wear gloves?_

And Lelouch fixed him a withering glare, or as withering as a ten-year-old can manage, and said, I'm a broker, remember? Anything with a processor that touches my skin--

Oh! Sorry, Suzaku said, finally putting the pieces together. A few seconds of silence later, he said, Does that mean I couldn't touch you, if I became a machine?

Why? Lelouch asked, wary. Were you planning on it?

Neither of them knew if he meant touching him or becoming a machine; Suzaku laughed. No! I was just curious, he explained.

And in the memory, Lelouch looked down at the ground, and said, It's probably okay if it's you. Since I could tell your nanomachines to be quiet -- if I wanted.

C.C. had laughed, and set the data capsule down on her desk, in her own dark room far away from his. "This is the kind of memory you want to give him?" she'd said, incredulous.

Lelouch had tightened his jaw, and snapped, "It's important information for him to have! And acquiescing over something like that builds the impression that we were very close."

He didn't say that he had always felt lonely, hidden away behind layers of clothing; maybe he didn't need to say it, wearing as he was only two light layers of clothing, hardly anything between him and the rest of the world. C.C. herself was shrouded so heavily in garments that little more than her face would be visible even if there had been light in the room beyond the glow of her screen.

"Poor little boy," she had drawled, golden eyes slitted like a predatory cat. "Always wanted to have an imaginary friend."


End file.
